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West Coast Classic: Joondalup Wolves star Kayla Steindl dominates to down Perry Lakes Hawks

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Mitchell WoodcockThe West Australian
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Joondalup Wolves’ capped off a fantastic season with a 72-54 win in the West Coast Classic grand final against Perry Lakes Hawks at the Bendat Basketball Centre tonight.

Former Perth Lynx star Kayla Steindl was the star, scoring 13 points to go with 12 rebounds in a best-on-court performance.

The Wolves had lost just one game heading into the clash and they were too good in the grand final for the Hawks, who struggled to score against Joondalup’s intense defence.

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It was a horrible start for the Hawks, who conceded the first nine points as Nes'eya Williams (11 points, four steals and two blocks) got straight into her work.

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Perry Lakes were their own worst enemies, hitting just three of their 16 shots in the first quarter as the Wolves’ defence forced them to go right until the final seconds of the shot clock.

By quarter time Joondalup led by seven points and the Hawks were under immense pressure.

Perry Lakes’ Morgan Ballantyne (eight points) and Nikita-Lee Martin (four points, six rebounds and five assists) combining for eight of their 12 points for the second term to keep them within touch, but they were still playing catch-up.

Joondalup continued to push their lead out, with the Wolves finding plenty of room under the basket to get the easy points early in the second half.

The Hawks were heavily reliant on Natalie Burton (14 points, seven rebounds), who was playing a lone hand at both ends, but she ended up in foul trouble in the third term.

This forced her to the bench and another Perry Lakes player could not stand up to fill the void.

As the final buzzer got closer, the Wolves’ confidence grew and they hunter right until the end, not allowing Perry Lakes any easy shots.

In the end, the Wolves were too strong and claimed the West Coast Classic, which was on in place of the regular State Basketball League season because of COVID-19.

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